[send power stones please]
"Hadō #33: Sōkatsui!"
"Hadō #58: Tenran!"
"Hadō #63: Raikōhō!"
…
Incantations rang out one after another.
Moments later, violent explosions erupted in rapid succession—
bursts of light in different colors colliding and scattering, while chaotic streams of reiatsu tore through the air.
"Very nice, very nice…"
Bai Chen sat leisurely on a stone platform beside the steaming hot spring, thoroughly enjoying the spectacle unfolding before him.
"So soon, and Raikōhō is already coming out."
"Captains, please keep it up."
"Try your best to let my Wood Clones gain even more real combat experience and Kidō insights before nightfall."
At this very moment—
Shiba Isshin and Matsumoto Rangiku were each being pressed hard by two Wood Clones.
Under Bai Chen's direct mental control, and supported by the vast reiatsu distributed through his Ultimate Constitution, every single Wood Clone possessed strength no weaker than his main body.
Each one radiated at least Third-tier Rei'i—
In fact, they were stronger than most ordinary Captains.
As a result—
Even though Isshin and Rangiku were still struggling to fully comprehend the clones' existence—
And even though their worldviews had already been shattered several times over—
In order to preserve the dignity of Captain-class Shinigami and avoid being battered senseless by relentless Kidō barrages…
They had no choice but to fight back with everything they had.
In less than an hour—
Nearly every Kidō technique they had mastered over their entire careers had been unleashed at least once, cycling endlessly between offense and defense.
"Bakudō #39: Enkōsen!"
Rangiku formed a circular barrier of reiatsu just in time, blocking a crashing wave of lightning.
Using Shunpo, she immediately retreated from her position, narrowly escaping the shockwave produced by the explosion.
As she moved, she couldn't help but glance back—
Her eyes locking onto Bai Chen, who was still relaxing by the hot spring.
Her expression twisted with grievance as she shouted angrily:
"Despicable…"
"Shameless…"
"Bai Chen! You're completely cheating!!"
Rangiku ground her teeth.
The past hour had utterly destroyed her mental balance—and filled her with a deep, simmering resentment toward Bai Chen.
This was supposed to be Kidō instruction.
Instead, it had somehow turned into being gang-beaten by Wood Clones.
What made it even worse—
Was that every time she finally managed, through sheer effort, to restrain one of the clones—
Bang!
With nothing more than a casual swing of Bai Chen's Zanpakutō—
The bound Wood Clone would instantly vanish on the spot.
In its place, a brand-new clone would appear—
one that had already absorbed the previous clone's combat memories and insights, making it even more refined.
Meanwhile—
Bai Chen himself hadn't moved an inch the entire time.
He hadn't even stood up.
By doing nothing more than continuously generating Wood Clones, he was effortlessly harvesting massive amounts of real combat data.
Kidō variations.
Combination techniques.
Casting timing.
Battle instincts.
He was grinding experience directly off two Captain-class Shinigami.
As for Isshin—
His situation wasn't much better.
True, he was a genuine Captain-level powerhouse.
But no matter how strong someone was, reiatsu wasn't infinite.
Eventually, exhaustion would come.
Bai Chen's Wood Clones, on the other hand—
Had no such limitation.
They were effectively running on infinite respawns.
Even if one was suppressed or damaged—
A few seconds later, another would immediately take its place.
Faced with this near-endless torture—
Isshin's face had long since adopted the look of a man wearing a pain mask.
If he'd known Bai Chen would fight like this…
There was no way he would've confidently volunteered in front of the Captain-Commander the night before.
Given the choice—
Who in their right mind would want to serve as a constantly beaten training dummy?
Even a draft animal got rest breaks.
But judging by Bai Chen's expression—
He had no intention of stopping anytime soon.
He was clearly planning to shear them dry, right down to the last strand.
"…Sigh."
Isshin let out a helpless sigh.
Still—despite the suffering—
His curiosity about Bai Chen's Zanpakutō had been completely ignited.
"If I remember correctly…"
"The autumn admissions only just ended."
"That means Bai Chen has had his Asauchi for less than three days!"
The realization made Isshin break into a cold sweat.
Even after witnessing Bai Chen's absurdity again and again—
This still left him utterly shaken.
"Awakening his Zanpakutō the moment he received an Asauchi…"
"And with an ability this powerful—and this bizarre…"
"In front of him, even Kaien's talent looks insignificant."
As Kaien Shiba's uncle, Isshin couldn't help but acknowledge—
Before a monster like Bai Chen—
Any so-called genius was destined to be completely crushed.
In fact, Isshin firmly believed—
With a Wood-Type Zanpakutō and no discernible weaknesses in any other area—
Bai Chen's future peak…
Might very well surpass even the Captain-Commander himself.
◇ I'll drop one bonus chapter for every 10 reviews (leave a review/comment!)
◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 100 Power Stones.
◇ Read 60 chapters ahead on P@treon: patreon.com/KageNaruto